23/24 CSO Season
Season tickets on sale now! Browse subscription packages. Tickets to individual performances go on sale to the public July 2023.
THE RITE OF SPRING
Christian Reif, conductor
Clara-Jumi Kang, violin
The 1913 premiere of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring was perhaps the most famous opening-night scandal in history. Confronted with its primal and untamed nature, its first audience was ignited into a riot, instantly cementing its reputation as a work that, to this day, triggers visceral responses. Conductor Christian Reif sets the stage for our wild encounter with a light and airy dance by Manuel de Falla and violinist Clara-Jumi Kang, bringing her poise to Bartók's second violin concerto.
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Program
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DE FALLA: Interlude and Dance from La vida breve
BARTÓK: Violin Concerto No. 2STRAVINSKY: Le Sacre du printemps ("The Rite of Spring")
Nina Simone Piano Concert Competition Finals
Louis Langrée, conductor
Created to give a platform to talented young African American pianists, the Competition will take place this summer in Cincinnati on the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music campus. The Competition aims to get more African American artists on concert stages, to commission new works, and to add more African American pianistic voices to the classical canon. Join the competition's three finalists as they come together with Louis Langrée and the CSO to compete for the grand prize on Music Hall's stage.
BERNSTEIN, PRICE & COPLAND
Louis Langrée, conductor
George Takei, narrator
The CSO performs music of American composers representing a variety of perspectives. Bernstein’s optimistic Candide and gripping score to the Oscarwinning film On the Waterfront frame a program including Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, a reprise from Louis Langrée’s first CSO subscription concert as Music Director, and Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1. In 1933, Price’s magnificent, tour de force Symphony No. 1 was the first symphonic work by a Black woman to be played by a major American orchestra.
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Program
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BERNSTEIN: Overture to Candide
PRICE: Symphony No. 1
COPLAND: Lincoln Portrait
BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront
RING WITHOUT WORDS
James Gaffigan, conductor
Fantasy kingdoms, scandalous love affairs, dwarfs, giants, and powerful music. Game of Thrones? Tolkien? Actually, before those came the Ring cycle, Wagner’s master achievement in his quest to create an all-encompassing theatrical experience. Conductor James Gaffigan returns to lead the CSO in a concert compilation of Wagner’s four epic operas, on a program that opens with two musical gems: Bacewicz’s delightfully bracing Overture and Mozart’s well-known Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
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Program
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BACEWICZ: Overture
MOZART: Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade in G Major)
WAGNER: Der Ring ohne Worte für Orchester ("The Ring Without Words")
TETZLAFF & TCHAIKOVSKY'S FIFTH
Gustavo Gimeno, conductor
Christian Tetzlaff, violin
“One of today’s most in-demand violinists” (NPR), Christian Tetzlaff returns to Music Hall after last showcasing his “jaw-dropping virtuosity” (Cincinnati Enquirer) here in the Queen City in 2017. Conductor Gustavo Gimeno leads Tetzlaff and the CSO in Szymanowski’s sweepingly lyrical Violin Concerto and a world premiere from Daníel Bjarnason’s multi-part commissioned work. Tchaikovsky’s wellspring of melodies is on display in his Fifth Symphony — opening with a fateful funeral march, winding through a sonorous solo horn song and lilting waltz, then finishing with bombastic brass.
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Program
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Daníel BJARNASON: New Work, Part II (CSO Co-Commission, World Premiere)
SZYMANOWSKI: Violin Concerto No. 1
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5
THOMAS' HAMLET
Louis Langrée, conductor
Jodie DeVos, Ophélie
Stéphane Degout, Hamlet
Laurent Alvaro, Claudius
Céline Gaudier, director
"To be or not to be….” French composer Ambroise Thomas’ grand opera is a musical setting of Shakespeare’s tragic story of the melancholic Prince Hamlet, his murderous uncle, ghostly father,and lover driven to madness. Louis Langrée leads the CSO and May Festival Chorus in this new touring production created in collaboration with Paris’ famed Ópera Comique.
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Program
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Ambroise THOMAS: Hamlet - Presented in collaboration with Ópera Comique
SIBELIUS SYMPHONY NO. 5
Dalia Stasevska, conductor
Davóne Tines, baritone
Dalia Stasevska returns to lead a Thanksgiving weekend of music that calls us home. Music drawn from the American heartland opens the program, with the beloved “Goin’ Home” theme from Dvořák’s New World Symphony, George Walker’s Lyric for Strings, and baritone Davóne Tines performing Saariaho’s True Fire, a work based on Native American texts and Emmerson’s Spiritual Laws. Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony provides a finale of sweeping and grand themes, evoking the spirit of Stasevska's own Finnish homeland.
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Program
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DVOŘÁK: Largo from Symphony No. 9, From the New World
Kaija SAARIAHO: True Fire
WALKER: Lyric for Strings
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 5
BACH'S FOURTH & MAHLER'S FIFTH
Case Scaglione, conductor
Two extremes of orchestral scale combine for a showcase of the CSO that’s both intimate and expansive. Conductor Case Scaglione makes his CSO debut with Bach’s beautifully playful Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, which highlights individual virtuosity within a smaller ensemble, alongside Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. First performed in the U.S. by the CSO, Mahler’s Fifth Symphony employs an orchestra of impressive proportions, from its iconic trumpet opening to the beloved, emotional Adagietto.
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Program
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BACH: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4
MAHLER: Symphony No. 5
BRAHMS: RUNNICLES & TRIFONOV
Sir Donald Runnicles, conductor
Daniil Trifonov, piano
Sir Donald Runnicles, celebrated for his interpretations of Romantic symphonic repertoire, leads an all-Brahms program, joining forces with powerhouse pianist Daniil Trifonov, following his stunning solo Music Hall performance in 2022. Together, they explore Brahms’ more brooding and emotional side in his Piano Concerto No. 1. Runnicles then conducts the CSO in Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, from its iconic “lullaby” to its cheerfully triumphant and brass-filled finale.
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Program
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BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 1
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 2
RACHMANINOFF & ADAMS
Kevin John Edusei, conductor
George Li, piano
Conductor Kevin John Edusei leads a program that invites you to explore the concept of harmony and its many forms, beginning with Elysium by Samy Moussa, a composer who has a “gleeful sense for…shocking harmony” (Los Angeles Times). John Adams describes his rhythmically and harmonically complex Harmonielehre as a parody “without the intent to ridicule”, with “shades of Mahler, Sibelius and Debussy.” Both pieces frame George Li's performance of the Second Piano Concerto from Rachmaninoff, arguably the hero of the lush, romantic style.
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Program
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Samy MOUSSA: Elysium
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 2John ADAMS: Harmonielehre
SYMPHONIC MOZART
Dame Jane Glover, conductor
Stefani Matsuo, violin
Christian Colberg, viola
Dame Jane Glover is widely regarded as a preeminent conductor of Mozart’s music. She leads an “all-Amadeus” program, showcasing CSO Concertmaster Stefani Matsuo and Principal Viola Christian Colberg in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante. Their performance is folded between works illustrating Mozart’s evolution of the symphony from the lighter style of early composers such as Haydn to the more emotionally-infused music of Beethoven.
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Program
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MOZART: Symphony No. 13
MOZART: Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major, K.364
MOZART: Symphony No. 36, Linz
SHOSTAKOVICH: 1905
Cristian Mǎcelaru, conductor
Kian Soltani, cello
Grammy-winning conductor Cristian Măcelaru joins the CSO for music of two Slavic luminaries. Cellist Kian Soltani brings his expressive and charismatic presence to Lutosławski’s Cello Concerto, frequently interpreted as an escalating struggle between the seemingly heroic soloist and the orchestra representing totalitarian authority. The acclaim and popularity of his Symphony No. 11 helped Shostakovich, who had weathered criticism and persecution from the Soviet regime, win back State approval. It offers a depiction of the 1905 Russian Revolution, from the first shots of Bloody Sunday to funeral marches lamenting those who were lost.
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Program
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LUTOSŁAWSKI: Cello Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905
BRAHMS' REQUIEM
Louis Langrée, conductor
Joélle Harvey, soprano
Will Liverman, baritone
May Festival Chorus
With prayerful music for both the living and the dead, the source of comfort in Brahms’ German Requiem is as much human as it is the divine. Louis Langrée leads the CSO along with the May Festival Chorus in Brahms’ large-scale masterpiece. Though Brahms was often discreet in nature, this is a deeply personal work. Spurred by the loss of his mother, and influenced by lingering emotions of self-doubt, he turned to his true religion – music – as a way to console not only himself, but others as well.
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Program
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BRAHMS: Ein Deutsches Requiem
SPRINGS OF COPLAND & SCHUMANN
Matthias Pintscher, conductor
Conrad Tao, piano
As the winter winds quell and the flowers of spring begin to blossom, CSO Creative Partner Matthias Pintscher conducts the Orchestra in works capturing the feeling of life beginning anew. Copland’s Appalachian Spring shines with the “Simple Gifts” of the season. After wowing CSO audiences in 2021 and 2022, pianist Conrad Tao returns for the world premiere of a CSO commissioned work from composer inti figgis-vizueta, whose music “feels sprouted between structures” (The Washington Post). Then, Schumann's Symphony No. 1 triumphantly ushers in the Spring season.
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Program
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COPLAND: Appalachian Spring
inti figgis-vizueta: New Work, (CSO Commission, World Premiere)- SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 1, Spring
HEROIC STRAUSS & MELODIC MOZART
Sir Mark Elder, conductor
Pavel Kolesnikov, piano
Stories of glory, chivalry and adventure abound as conductor Sir Mark Elder joins the CSO. Wagner’s Tannhäuser is a musical story of lust, love, and deliverance, as the opera’s title character makes a pilgrimage from the magical realm of Venus to his final redemption in Rome. Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben is an epic portrayal of the hero that exists in all of us, along with the accompanying joys and struggles, depicted through battling brass and tender string melodies. Pianist Pavel Kolesnikov brings his “fluid, fine-toned” (Gramophone) playing to Mozart’s melodic Piano Concerto No. 17.
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Program
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WAGNER: Overture to Tannhäuser
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 17- STRAUSS: Ein Heldenleben ("A Hero's Life")
THE INEXTINGUISHABLE
Ryan Bancroft, conductor
Inon Barnatan, piano
“Music is life, and like it, it is inextinguishable.” With this declaration written at the top of his score, Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4 pits the everlasting spirit of life against the horror of World War I with dramatic music leading to, what else, but a battle between two timpani! Making his CSO debut, conductor Ryan Bancroft opens this program with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade for Orchestra, and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, displaying the virtuosity of guest pianist Inon Barnatan, heralded by The New York Times as “one of the most admired pianists of his generation.”
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Program
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Samuel COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: Ballade for Orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 1
NIELSEN: Symphony No. 4, The Inextinguishable
Classical Roots
John Morris Russell, conductor
Love and fellowship ring throughout Music Hall for one of Cincinnati's most anticipated musical traditions of each year! JMR leads the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Classical Roots Community Choir and Nouveau Players in an evening of powerful and inspirational music.
HADELICH PERFORMS BRAHMS
Louis Langrée, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin
Schoenberg's music, before he became known as a father of 20th-century 12-tone composition, developed from the harmonic bedrock of Romantics like Brahms, Mahler and Richard Strauss. His "Transfigured Night" was further heightened when Schoenberg met the love of his life and found inspiration in poetry of hope and acceptance. Led by Louis Langrée, the CSO performs this, along with Brahms' Violin Concerto, which features the return of Grammy-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich, and a co-commission from former CSO Composer-in-Residence Jonathan Bailey Holland.
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Program
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Jonathan Bailey HOLLAND: New Work (CSO Co-Commission, CSO Premiere)
SCHOENBERG: Verklärte Nacht, (“Transfigured Night”)
BRAHMS: Violin Concerto
DVOŘÁK SYMPHONY NO. 8
Katharina Wincor, conductor
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello
Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 is filled with optimistic and lyrical music, leading to a finale of fanfares and dances. Conductor Katharina Wincor, who led the May Festival's 2022 production of Candide, returns to Music Hall and welcomes cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason for Shostakovich's raw and rhythmic first Cello Concerto.
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Program
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SHOSTAKOVICH: Festive Overture
SHOSTAKOVICH: Cello Concerto No. 1
DVORAK: Symphony No. 8
BEETHOVEN 7 & DESSNER PREMIERES
Louis Langrée, conductor
Bryce DESSNER, composer
Alice Sara Ott, piano
If Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is known as a musical embodiment of fate, his Seventh carries the spirit of freedom and liberation, with catchy, dance-like melodies woven throughout. Bryce Dessner, founder of Cincinnati’s MusicNOW Festival and a member of the Grammy-winning band The National, shares two of his works for orchestra.
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Program
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Bryce DESSNER: Mari
Bryce DESSNER: Piano Concerto (CSO Co-Commission, US Premiere)
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7
STRAVINSKY'S FIREBIRD
Louis Langrée, conductor
Latonia Moore, soprano
Janni Younge, director
This is a Firebird unlike any you’ve experienced before. Louis Langrée, in his final program as Music Director, leads the CSO in the premiere of a new song cycle by Anthony Davis, whose 2007 You Have the Right to Remain Silent made a poignant impression on CSO Livestream audiences in 2020. Then, Langrée concludes his tenure in collaboration with South African director Janni Younge of Handspring Puppet Company, which is critically acclaimed for imaginative designs including their Tony Award-winning puppetry in War Horse. The result is a visually stunning performance of Stravinsky’s score with music of enchantment, infernal dance, and a finale featuring the Firebird making a glorious appearance inside Music Hall.
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Program
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Anthony DAVIS: New Orchestral Song Cycle (CSO Commission, World Premiere)
STRAVINSKY: Firebird (complete ballet score)